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Senegal holds contentious election as Abdoulaye Wade runs again Senegal election: Crowd boos Wade as he casts his vote
(about 7 hours later)
People in Senegal are voting in a presidential election, with 85-year-old incumbent Abdoulaye Wade seeking a controversial third term. A crowd at a polling station in Senegal has booed incumbent leader Abdoulaye Wade as he cast his vote in a controversial re-election bid.
Mr Wade's re-election bid sparked protests in which several people died. The crowd in the capital, Dakar, could be heard shouting "Get out, old man!" at Mr Wade, 85, who is seeking a third term in office.
Last month the country's highest court, the Constitutional Council, announced that he could stand for a third term despite a two-term limit. Several people were killed in protests against Mr Wade's candidacy, allowed by the top court despite a two-term limit.
The court also barred world-renowned singer, Youssou N'Dour, from standing in the election. The court also barred world-famous singer Youssou N'Dour from standing.
He said that allowing Mr Wade to run amounted to a constitutional coup d'etat. N'Dour has argued that allowing Mr Wade to run again amounts to a constitutional coup d'etat.
The constitutional court ruled that Mr Wade could stand on the grounds that his first term did not count as it had begun before the two-term limit was introduced in 2001. Tension will be high later on Sunday when the first provisional results come out, the BBC's West Africa correspondent, Thomas Fessy, reports from Dakar.
Senegal, a former French colony, is seen as a stable democracy with an unbroken series of elections since independence in 1960.
It remains the only West African country where the army has never seized power.
'Temper tantrums'
A cacophony of boos and jeers drowned out clapping from a few dozen supporters when Mr Wade appeared at the polling station in the Dakar suburb of Point E, where he owns a private home, AFP news agency reports.
More than 100 people booed and chanted "Wade go away" in the local Wolof language, Reuters news agency said.
Visibly angry, the elderly leader reportedly pushed aside one of his own bodyguards as he beat a swift retreat after voting, without speaking to the media.
Earlier, he had dismissed opposition protests as "temper tantrums".
Despite the ill-feeling, long lines of voters could be seen waiting patiently to cast their ballots in Senegal.
In the working-class neighbourhood of Parcelles Assainies, many people turned out in their best clothes for the event.
"You can see the determination of the people, they want change," Awa Faye Ndoye, a housewife, told Reuters after voting.
She predicted people would take to the streets in protest if Mr Wade was declared the winner.
'Father of the nation'
Mr Wade is one of 14 candidates who also include Macky Sall and Idrissa Seck, both former prime ministers who served under him.
However, he is confident of victory, insisting his advanced age is an asset.
"My age has become an advantage," he told French weekly Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.
"I am president and father of the nation. This is what the Europeans do not understand."
Most opposition candidates have called on their supporters to go to the polls and vote Mr Wade out of power but they have also insisted they will not recognise his victory if he is re-elected, our correspondent says.
Speaking at a polling station in Dakar's Amitie district, N'Dour said: "We will not accept an electoral coup here.
"The Senegalese are not stupid... The rest of the world is watching what goes on in Senegal very closely."
The constitutional court ruled that Mr Wade could stand again on the grounds that his first term had not counted since it began before the two-term limit was introduced in 2001.
International leaders appealed for calm ahead of the vote.International leaders appealed for calm ahead of the vote.
The African Union's envoy, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, proposed that Mr Wade retire after two years if he is elected for another seven-year term, as expected. The African Union's envoy, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, proposed that Mr Wade retire after two years if re-elected.
But his plan was not accepted by either the president or the opposition.But his plan was not accepted by either the president or the opposition.
Once a veteran opposition leader himself, Mr Wade was first elected in 2000 - ending 40 years of rule by the Socialist Party.Once a veteran opposition leader himself, Mr Wade was first elected in 2000 - ending 40 years of rule by the Socialist Party.
Senegal, a former French colony, is seen as a stable democracy with an unbroken series of elections since independence in 1960.
It remains the only West African country where the army has never seized power.